Question regarding sequence of itinerary

Just be aware that if Venice (you lucky girl) is your last stop, few US airlines serve Venice without a connection so most US bound flights to the connecting airports leave Venice very early in the morning so at the Helpline we are always fielding questions like, my flight is at 6:30 how do I get to the airport from Venice before 4:30?

If the flights out of Prague work better you might consider doing Prague after Venice, just for that reason.

US Air has a non-stop to Philadelphia from Venice at 11:35 am, and we've done a return on SAS thru Copenhagan that left Venice at noon. The point is, keep the departure times in mind if and when you book a return from Venice. There are lots of threads on helpline about how to get to the airport for early (6-7am) departures. Its a headache if you connect in Europe for your return home. A direct flight from Venice to NA with a connection in NA is the way to go.

Probably you know this but I will repeat it: Fly into one city, home from another. I don't see much difference in the choices departing Venice or Prague trans-Atlantic.
Last summer I took a KLM/Delta combo to the US midwest that left Venice at a not-unreasonable midmorning time (and believe me I am unreasonable if I have to get up at dawn.) Connection was at Amsterdam which I find easier to navigate than Charles de Gaulle/Heathrow/Franfurt.

Hello Sally. If you travel to those three destinations in 2 weeks, I suggest : fly to Prague, and fly from there to Venice, and fly from London to San Francisco. An airline flight from Prague to the U.S.A. would probably have an early morning departure time for travel to San Francisco that day. And I think flying from Venice to San Francisco would be a very long day for you, using any airline.

Sally:

I too would suggest you fly open jaw into Prague. You'll have to go through another European gateway city because there are no direct flights into Prague from North America.

Wizz Air is a Hungarian budget air carrier that flies from Prague to Venice.

Then, you can fly back to London-Gatwick from Venice-Marco Polo on EasyJet.com--probably the best European budget air carrier.

Sally, all three of these destinations are wonderful, but....In my opinion, they are so spread out and so different that I recommend spending more time exploring one (or maybe two) of these destinations, plus other towns that are closer and more similar. I'd compare the experience to trying out three unfamiliar and very different cuisines all in one meal. I don't think it would be a very satisfying experience. In addition, the actual flight times between these cities seem quick, but you have to count in the time spent going to and from airports, check in times, and so forth. I'd rather use that time for actual sight seeing. Just my opinion...

Hi Everyone, Thanks for all your suggestions. I now know that Venice will not be the last part of our trip. Knowing me, I probably would not be able to sleep the night before worrying that we might over slept and miss our flight.
Anita is right. These 3 places are quite apart from each other. I don't want to lose any more of our limited time with travel from one place to the other but I feel that We would love to see Venice and London again and I always wanted to see Prague. Now, We have to decide whether London would be the first or last part of our trip. With London being the first part , perhaps it will help us ease into the European time with slightly familiar surroundings .

Sally,

i know how you feel. So many places so little time and $$$.

i just choose a place or places to go and go. I try to plan my trips to maximize my time on the ground and in the cities/towns i want to go to and then save the rest for next year.

when it comes to how i do it, i try not to back track or make too big a hops between places. but thats just how i do it. sometimes it cant be avoided.

good luck and happy trails.

You are so right Ray- so many places , so little time and $$$. We have been to places in Europe a few times- 3 countries in 2 weeks each time. We did waste our limited time in travel from one country to another. Crazy? yes but it seems to work out for us at the moment. There are places I have been to that I would love to go back like London, Wengen/Murren and the Amalfie coast and places that I feel once is enough. Places that I love to go back again in my wish list because I never spent enough time .
Thanks a lot David .I sure wish I live in Sacramento city so I can attend your meetings. You help me organize my thoughts and plan so I can move forward . Your explanation of the first country to fly into from San Francisco and the last( 3rd ) country to fly back to makes a lot of sense. Even the suggestions of the airlines and the straight flight fom SF to London.It definitely cuts down on the time I need to spend researching. With an itinerary , then I can focus on the flight and the accomodation for June.
There are always 4 of us travelling and in the past we always booked hotels ( 2 separate rooms) . The last trip We had 2 years ago was in Rome and we did a 4 days apartment suggested by RS forum contributor. We all felt it was so much better. We saved money and we are able to bond during our vacation as after our sightseeing We came back to the apartment and can still talk rather than go back to our hotel rooms. This is just my opinion. I will need to go to the specific country travel forum to ask for suggestions of rentals. It is overwhelming to look thru VRBO .

Sally,

You don't have to live in Sacramento to attend a meeting! Susan from Sausalito has been twice and hopefully will return. Jo even came and she lives in Frankfurt!

Thanks Andrea, I will keep that in mind.

David from Florence is saying there are no direct flights from North America into Prague. Actually there are: from JFK and in summer also from Atlanta. I used them several times. But they are longer (from Seattle) than flying directly to Europe and change the planes there (for Seattle options are London, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam - I tried all of them, Amsterdam is the best). I believe there is a direct plane from S.F. to London. Then you can fly to Venice, then Venice to Prague. Prague to Amsterdam and then to S.F. You want your destination to be the first airport in the US otherwise you would have to go through a big hassle taking your luggage through customs and then putting it back on the belt for plane (in your case NY or Atlanta).